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WWE NXT Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From Jan. 21

Chris MuellerJan 21, 2025

Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE NXT on January 21.

This week's show as unofficially Title Tuesday as three different championships were on the line.

Here is a look at what WWE advertised for Tuesday's show:

  • Oba Femi vs. Eddy Thorpe (NXT Championship)
  • Tony D'Angelo vs. Ridge Holland (North American Championship)
  • Lexis King vs. Charlie Dempsey (NXT Heritage Cup)

Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's episode of NXT.

Tony D'Angelo vs. Ridge Holland

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NXT
NXT

The first match of the night was for the North American Championship. Tony D defended the belt against the former brawling brute, Holland.

They started with a lockup that quickly turned into a striking contest. Holland scored the first takedown with a shoulder tackle, but the champ was up immediately and fired back.

Shawn Spears showed up and Tony D seemed to allow him to get in his head for a moment, which led to Holland taking over during the break.

This was a fun, physical match that showed the fundamentals both men have learned in NXT. Holland has made noticeable improvements during his time in WWE and this match was a good illustration of how far he has come.

However, while it was fun, it also ended in mayhem. Izzy Dame interfered on Tony D's behalf while a brawl was breaking out at ringside and kicked Holland in the face, allowing the champ to pin him to retain his title.

We didn't see anything too noteworthy here, but most of what we got in this match looked good.

Result: Tony D defeated Holland

Grade: B


Notable Moments and Observations

  • Corey Graves said he is right where he wants to be, so it looks like that was his way of possibly dispelling some rumors. 
  • Tony D moves around so well for a guy his size. He has that extra pep in his step a lot of big guys don't have. 
  • The way Tony rolls into a pin after hitting a fisherman's suplex was great. 

Dion Lennox vs. Wes Lee

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After a break and a quick backstage segment, Bayley came to the ring. She talked a lot about her history in NXT and how she cares about Roxanne Perez, but it wasn't Perez who interrupted her. It was Giulia.

She said she respected Bayley, but it didn't take long for Perez to show up with her BFF, Cora Jade. This predictably turned into a fight with Bayley and Giulia sending them out of the ring. They continued fighting during a break as officials tried to break them at the same time as a fight was breaking out in the women's locker room.

When we returned, the ring had been cleared and rookie Dion Lennox was making his way to the ring to take on Wes Lee.

Lee was giving up some size, but it didn't stop him from taking control and hitting a suicide dive right away. When they got back into the ring, Lennox propelled him high into the air and let him fall flat on his face.

Lee did a great job selling for Lennox and helping him look like a monster athlete before he made a quick comeback and hit his finisher for the win.

This wasn't a long match, but it was fun for what it was. With five more minutes, they could have cooked up a great fight. Williams came out and said he would take on Lee next week in Atlanta.

Result: Lee defeated Lennox

Grade: C


Notable Moments and Observations

  • Trick Williams slapped the life out of Wes Lee backstage. It was hilarious. 
  • The crowd was drowning Perez out with boos. 
  • Lee was still selling the slap from William by acting like his jaw hurt during his entrance. It was a great little detail. 
  • Lee may be small, but it was still impressive to see Lennox throw him into the air the way he did. 

Lexis King vs. Charlie Dempsey

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NXT
NXT

The Heritage Cup was on the line when the former champion, Dempsey, took on the man who beat him for the cup, King.

They started off with a nice exchange of takedowns and reversals, but neither man could gain a clear footing until King started building a little momentum.

They traded several near-falls in the first round but nobody gained a point. Most of the second round took place during a break and saw Dempsey score a point before the show returned.

He became a lot more confident once he had a point and began trying to punish King with submissions. King scored a point to wrap up the third round. He considered using some brass knuckles but seemed to change his mind.

In the end, King retained the cup the same way he won it, with a low blow that led to a pin. Most of this was enjoyable, but the finish left a little to be desired. King was never a convincing babyface so hopefully, he stops trying to act like one soon.

Result: King defeated Dempsey

Grade: B


Notable Moments and Observations

  • The video package for King before the match was a good piece of work. 
  • King and Dempsey shook hands when King stopped himself from going for the same move that won him the title since it was a possibly accidental low blow. 
  • Booking Dempsey to score a point during the break was a good way to make the PIP segments seem important to watch. 
  • King displayed some good technical ability in the early portion of the match. 

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Karmen Petrovic vs. Jaida Parker

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After a fight broke out backstage, Jaida Parker and Karmen Petrovic were booked in a singles match. Ashante Thee Adonis accompanied Karmen to the ring.

Both of these women pride themselves on their fighting ability, so there was no time wasted sizing each other up. Both competitors were throwing strikes and going for takedowns immediately.

This match had good physicality and a couple of fun moments, but it also had a few moments that felt mistimed and awkward, which is something that comes with the territory in NXT since it's still the developmental system no matter how shiny WWE makes it.

Petrovic scored the win after Kelani Jordan showed up and distracted Parker just long enough for Petrovic to roll her up for the pin.

Result: Petrovic defeated Parker

Grade: C


Notable Moments and Observations

  • More wrestlers need to carry swords to the ring. 
  • It's easy to misjudge how big Parker is until you see her next to someone else. She has a lot of muscle and height that blend in. 

Niko Vance and Brooks Jensen vs. Stacks and Luca Crusifino

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After what went down in the NA title match earlier, Stacks and Luca Crusifino were booked in a tag match against Brooks Jensen and Niko Vance.

This was high-energy from the moment the bell rang. They did a great job making it look like all four men couldn't wait to start inflicting some damage.

Both team had some good spots, but the most brutal had to be when Jenson sent Crusifino into the steel steps shortly before Vance hit a huge lariat on Stacks for the win.

This was short and sweet. It didn't need to be any more than what it was, which was a few minutes of highly physical action. It may not have all looked pretty, but it looked painful and that is always a plus.

Result: Vance and Jenson defeated Crusifino and Stacks

Grade: C+


Notable Moments and Observations

  • WWE's random ring name generator needs a software update. 
  • Stacks has so much untapped potential. This kid has a lot of tools needed to be successful. 

Oba Femi vs. Eddy Thorpe

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This week's main event was the NXT title match between Femi and Thorpe. This was booked after Thorpe attacked Femi last week during his title celebration.

Thorpe showed no fear of the champion and took the fight to him with a quick sequence of moves followed by a pin attempt. Femi immediately kicked out and began to assert his dominance.

Thorpe is not a small man by any means, but he was giving up a lot of size and power in this one. Femi tried his best to look like he was struggling at times, but there was never a moment when it felt like his reign was truly in danger.

The challenger hit a stunner followed by a flying elbow drop for the closest two-count of the match. Femi won moments later by hitting a big powerbomb.

This was a fun match that made Thorpe look more dangerous than he has in quite some time. Femi's reign is officially underway and it's going to be a fun ride if he continues to be as good as he has been.

Result: Femi defeated Thorpe

Grade: B+


Notable Moments and Observations

  • It's surprising this wasn't booked as a strap match but since Thorpe had the strap with him, it's still likely we will see one at some point. 
  • Femi has some of the most intimidating facial expressions in all of pro wrestling. 
  • Thorpe's counter into a hurricanrana looked fine, but the way Femi had to struggle to not have his legs under the ropes made the moment look a little awkward. 

The Final Word

7 of 7

This week's NXT was a relatively average show, but it did include three title matches, so it was definitely a show worth watching.

Femi and Thorpe closed the show with the best match, but Dempsey and King put on a solid performance in their Heritage Cup encounter, too.

The most interesting thing that happened on the show was Bayley and Perez continuing their feud while Giulia and Jade were added to the mix.

Jade is a good candidate to be the next one in line for a shot at the title now that Perez is occupied with a new feud, so having all four women involved is definitely going to lead to a tag team match soon.

If you only have time to watch one thing from the show, make it the main event.

Grade: C+

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